News &amp; Features - October 2009

CTL Squash Bucklers team member Tom Finley, right, watches a pumpkin fly throught the air after pulling the launch cord on the team's trebuchet during the Pirates of the Plains Pumpkin Chunkin' competition on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 at Osborne Farm, 1230 S. Boise Ave. Three teams participated in the competition with two teams using trebuchets and one using an air cannon going for prizes in accuracy and distance events.

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Floss Blackburn, founder of Denkai Animal Rescue in Grover, feeds grain to a horse while it is given medicine on Thursday at the Refelctions for Youth home east of Loveland.

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Floss Blackburn, founder of Denkayi Animal Sanctuary in Grover, talks about several horses that were recently placed at a home east of Loveland in a partnership with the Refelctions for Youth program.

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Arabian horses Colby, left, and Kira are fed grain Thursday at the Refelctions for Youth residential east of Loveland. The horses are from the Denkai Animal Sanctuary in Grover and were recently placed at the home.

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Refelctions for Youth residents pet horses Colby, left, and Kira while feeding them hay on Thursday afternoon. The horses were recently placed at the residential center in a partnership with the Grover-based Denkai Animal Sanctuary.

B.F. Kitchen Elementary principal Kandi Smith kisses a pig as the school's students watch on Friday in the lunchroom of the school. The students raised over $6,100 for walking a total of 1,692 laps around the soccer field, an equivalent of 282 miles. Thompson School District grounds operator Seth Woolridge, left, provided the pig from his family's hog farm.

Tavian Day, 5,

Ellizabeth Wheeler, 5,

Kindergartener Tavian Day, 5, waits as he and his B.F. Kitchen Elementary schoolmates gather to watch principal Kandi Smith kiss a pig on Friday in the lunchroom of the school.

Cyndi Stanley, left wheels bales of hay as Cathryn Fredrickson, 11, hangs cobweb decorations for a carnival in the indoor arena at Hearts and Horses on Friday. The carnival, which is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat. Oct. 24, will include fun for kids young and old. There will also be a haunted house that runs Oct. 16, 17, 22-24, and 29-31 from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information go to http://www.heartsandhorses.org.

Jack Nelson, 2, of hangs out in the Benson Sculpture Garden Park on Thursday. He and his mother, Teresa Nelson, were visiting from Fort Collins. If the proposed lodging tax is passed, the City Council hopes to use the revenue to promote tourism for the city.

Jack Nelson, 2, of hangs out in the Benson Sculpture Garden Park on Thursday. He and his mother were visiting from Fort Collins. If the proposed lodging tax is passed, the City Council hopes to use the revenue to promote tourism for the city.

City of Loveland Forest Specialist Rob MacDonald, center, teaches the Loveland High School National Honor Society how to plant a tree in Eagleview Park at 37th Street and Lincoln Avenue on Wednesday. The trees, provided by a the Loveland Parks and Recreation Foundation and the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association, will add to the diversity of Loveland's tree population and provide a visual barrier for a nearby neighborhood.

Megan Lins, a member of the Loveland High School National Honor Society, listens as Forest Specialist Rob MacDonald teaches the group how to plant a tree in Eagleview Park at 37th Street and Lincoln Avenue on Wednesday.

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Mountain View High School Resource Officer Denise Martinchick goes over an Explorer application with senior Rachel Koch, 17, on Tuesday at the school.

Terry Kroenung of Loveland authored the book "Brimstone and Lily," that he describes as a "Wacky fantasy novel of the Civil War."

Jen Thompson of Loveland paints hibiscus flowers with watercolor pencils during a painting class at AMES Community College in Loveland.

Firefighters from at least eight departments battle a fire that engulfs the Park Theatre Mall on Monday in Estes Park.

A firefighter fights a blaze from atop a tower truck during a fire that engulfed the Park Theatre Mall on Monday in Estes Park, Colo. The adjacent theatre was not damaged in the fire.

AP Photo/Loveland Reporter-Herald, Chris Stark

Crowds gather atop a hill on the north side of town to watch firefighters battle a blaze that engulfs the Park Theatre Mall on Monday in Estes Park, Colo. No one was in the structure during the blaze which started after 6 a.m., well before the mall opened.

AP Photo/Loveland Reporter-Herald, Chris Stark

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Ben Akers rakes leaves from the back of a pickup Sunday at the Loveland Recycling Center on Wilson Avenue. Akers said he was helping clean up the leaves from his grandparents house and had been out to the Recycling Center several times with the pickup full of leaves.

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A helium balloon made by Richard Heene out of tarpaulin material is stored in an evidence room at the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in Fort Collins. Investigators loaded the lower compartment with 37 pounds of material to simulate the weight of 6-year-old Falcon Heene who was reported to have been aboard the balloon when it was released on Oct. 15.

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Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden speaks during a press conference outside the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in Fort Collins on Sunday morning.

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Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden addresses members of the media during a press conference Sunday morning outside the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in Fort Collins regarding the recent helium balloon incident. Alderden said the department is still investigating the incident and that charges may be filed in the future.

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Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, center, addresses members of the media during a press conference Sunday morning outside the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in Fort Collins regarding the recent helium balloon incident. Alderden said the department is still investigating the incident and that charges may be filed in the future.

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A helium balloon made by Richard Heene out of tarpaulin material is stored in an evidence room at the Larimer County Sheriff's Office in Fort Collins. Investigators loaded the lower compartment with 37 pounds of material to simulate the weight of 6-year-old Falcon Heene who was reported to have been aboard the balloon when it was released on Oct. 15.

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Jackie Dame holds her 10-month-old son, Micah Dame, while wearing vampire costumes as part of the attempt to break the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 at North Lake Park.

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Nathan Horst, 9, bares his fangs while dressed as a vampire Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 at North Lake Park during an attempt to set the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires.

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Participants in a bid to set the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires stand together at North Lake Park on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.

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Members of the Cabrera family wear vampire costumes as the get ready to help set the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 at North Lake Park.

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Nick Sullivan of Loveland dons a vampire costume while chatting with other similarly clad participants trying to set the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires on Saturday at North Lake Park.

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Five-year-old Jarett Cabrera, front, bares his fangs while he and his brothers, Jaxon, 8, left, and Jordan, 11, get ready to help set the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires on Saturday at North Lake Park.

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Participants in a bid to set the world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires cheer after learning they were successful in setting the mark at 356 on Saturday evening at North Lake Park. Loveland resident Kathy Reams said she came up with the idea while brainstorming what costumes runners would wear in the Harvest Night Two Miler race. She contacted Guiness World Records about four months ago to determine the requirements for establishing the record and with the help of many volunteers was able to accomplish that goal.

Members of the Loveland High School Crimson Regiment perform during the Northern Regional Band Competition at Thompson Valley High School on Wednesday.

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Loveland artist and elementary school art teacher Audrie Mergelman, left, works on an acrylic painting of horses as Maria Anderson and her daughter, Darcy, 9, watch her work Saturday afternoon at Sage Moon Originals, 105 E. First St. during the Loveland Art Studio Tour and Sale. Visit http://www.amergelman.com to view more of Mergelman's paintings.

Berthoud High School Spartan Marching Band Sousaphone players Alan Coone, left, and John Johnson walk down Eagle Drive on Wednesday after performing at the Northern Regional Band Competition at Thompson Valley High School on Wednesday.